Top 10 Health Benefits Of Fennel

Hang Pham

Fennel is a flavorful and aromatic herb, which has several medicinal as well as culinary uses. If you don’t have it in your kitchen cupboard, you’ll want to immediately put it on the grocery list and then make it become a household staple after you learn more about it.

Apart from popularly using it as a breath freshener, fennel helps to relieve several ailments and facilitate better health thanks to its stomachic, carminative, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antispasmodic, expectorant, diuretic, emmenagogue, anticarcinogenic, depurative, and antioxidant properties.

Additionally, fennel contains a high source of vitamin C, potassium, iron, folate, fiber, and manganese. It is also has a rich concentration of volatile oils and high in phytonutrients.

You may enjoy the health benefits of this herb by sprinkling it on cakes or bread before baking, adding to fruit salads. Additionally, you can add fresh fennel roots in fried vegetables or simply chew fennel seeds after enjoying meals. Today, in this article, VKool will present to you top 10 health benefits of fennel. This article listed the best advantages of consuming this herb from reliable sources. However, it is only for the informational target and it is not aimed to give medical advice. Continue reading this writing to understand more!

Top 10 Health Benefits Of Fennel You Should Know

1. Aid Digestion

This herb promotes digestion and has the carminative effects which soothe your digestive tract as well as prevent the gas formation. Moreover, it may help in rebuilding your digestive system after chemotherapy or radiation treatments.

Hence, you simply chew 1 teaspoon of these seeds after you enjoy meals to aid digestion and relieve bloating and stomach pains.

Whenever you suffer from indigestion, you can enjoy fennel tea or you mix the fennel seed powder (½ teaspoon) with water to consume for 2 times a day.

2. Reduce Obesity

Fennel is beneficial in combating obesity because it can suppress the appetite and create a feeling of fullness. In fact, fresh fennel acts as a natural fat buster. It boosts the metabolism and breaks down fats. Moreover, because of being a diuretic, fennel will help in easing water retention commonly causing temporary weight gain.

A simple way to lose weight with fennel is to simply dry roast, grind and then sieve fennel seeds.

Then you consume ½ teaspoon of this fennel powder with lukewarm water for 2 times daily.

3. Relieve Menstrual Problems

There are many factors which can interrupt a regular menstrual cycle of women such as stress and poor diet. Fennel seeds contain emmenagogue properties which can assist in promoting and regulating menstrual flow. This herb also has phytoestrogens helping with issues such as premenstrual syndrome, breast enlargement, and menopausal disorders.

A study conducted by researchers in 2012 indicates that fennel may reduce the pain in menstruation or symptoms of dysmenorrheal.

Apart from menstrual benefits, this herb is used in a traditional way as a galactagogue to stimulate lactation in nursing mothers. Fennel also acts as an aphrodisiac to raise libido in both women and men.

4. Prevent Cardiac Problems

Fennel may reduce the risk of heart attack or stroke. This herb has a high source of potassium which can be beneficial in lowering high blood pressure. It also contains folate that is essential for transforming potentially dangerous homocysteine molecules to a benign form.

Additionally, raw fennel root is high in dietary fiber which will have the ability to control cholesterol buildup. This raw root also has vitamin C and this vitamin works as an antioxidant to inhibit free radical activity and thereby preventing heart disease.

5. Improve Memory And Brain Function

This is one of the great benefits of fennel that you have to know. Fennel acts as a general booster of brain. Researchers have proved that fennel seeds help in improving cognitive performance. Fennel seeds and bulbs also contain high levels of potassium that will encourage increased electrical conduction throughout your body, contribute to healthy brain functioning as well as cognitive abilities.

Plus, fennel juice can work as a vasodilator and increase oxygen supply to your brain. It also aids in getting relief from depression as well as delaying the beginning of dementia.

6. Promote Eye Health

Researchers have found that fennel can aid in reducing eye pressure and promoting the dilation of your blood vessels. Therefore, it may prevent or cure glaucoma which is a vision-impairing disease. Moreover, another study in Indian suggests that fennel seeds have a compound (trans-anethole) which may prevent retinopathy related to vision loss in diabetics.

Hence, you can drink fennel tea daily to get some benefits for your eye health.

Besides, you may prepare an infusion by mixing ½ teaspoon of fennel seeds with a cup of water and boil until half of the water evaporates.

Then you strain the water and let it cool naturally

You use this infusion as eye drops to get relief from eye strain and irritation.

7. Treat Respiratory Illnesses

Fennel contains mild expectorant properties and these properties will help to relieve respiratory tract infections related to coughs, colds, sinus congestion, and flu.

For instance, whenever you suffer from a cough or a sore throat, you just drink a little warm fennel tea for 2 or 3 times a day.

Or you may boil 2 tablespoons of fennel seeds mixed with a cup of water till half of the water evaporates.

Then you strain this solution and use it to gargle.

8. Protect Against Cancers

Another effective benefit in the list of top 10 health benefits of fennel is to protect against cancers. Fennel bulb may reduce the risk of colon cancer as it helps to eliminate carcinogenic toxins from your colon.

Plus, this herb contains anethole which is an anti-inflammatory phytonutrient and it has anti-cancer effects. Researchers have found that this phytonutrient may prevent the cells causing breast cancer from growing. Other phytonutrients such as quercetin and limonene contained in fennel also contain anticarcinogenic effects.

9. Relieve Water Retention

Consuming fennel tea regularly helps in flushing out excess fluids from your body because it acts as a diuretic. You may also apply the strong fennel tea to ease puffy eyes which are caused by fluid retention.

In addition to relieving and preventing water retention, fennel also has the ability to eliminate toxins and reduce urinary tract problems. Besides, it contains diaphoretic properties which will promote perspiration.

10. Beat Bad Breath

Chewing fennel seeds after a meal also makes your breath sweeten and refresh and especially remove bad breath after you have an odorous meal.

Thanks to its antimicrobial properties, fennel seeds will fight the germs causing bad breath. The anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties in it are also beneficial in soothing sore gums.

Hence, you can chew fennel seeds or use lukewarm fennel tea to gargle and you will have a better breath.

If you want to know more about benefits of other ingredients, please go to our main Health Nutrition page. After reading the article of top 10 health benefits of fennel, hope that it can help you find out the best benefits of consuming fennel. However, the article is only for the informational purpose; therefore, you should see your doctor in order to get the advice. If you have any question, please leave the comments below, I will respond you as soon as possible. And if you know other health benefits of fennel, please leave them below.